Rough sleepers during coronavirus

Murad Qureshi: Will the support provided to rough sleepers during the pandemic continue and what does the GLA need from Government to provide long-term support to tackle rough sleeping?

Sadiq Khan: It is good to see AssemblyMemberQureshi also back in the Assembly.
The effort of TomCopley [Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development], our team, charities, councils and others, supported by the Government, has been phenomenal. All we have done in London is world leading. Whereas other cities in advanced nations around the world are sadly seeing high numbers of homeless people with COVID-19, in London the overwhelming majority of our rough sleepers are safely accommodated and thus much better protected from the virus. Our commissioned charities are now working intensively with those in the hotels, some of whom are long-term rough sleepers who have refused help until now.
We absolutely must take advantage of this opportunity and adopt my ‘in for good’ principle so that no one we are accommodating now needs to return to the streets when lockdown is lifted.
First, we need the Government to commit to funding a secure long-term solution for every single rough sleeper we have helped during the emergency.
Second, it must be open to policy changes across departments that we need to avoid large numbers of people returning to the streets. That includes policy relating to non-UK nationals and those with no recourse to public funds.
Third, we need the Government to make crucial changes to the welfare system and the private rented sector to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place and provide us with resources to continue to help those sleeping rough on our streets.
The proposals and calls for investment outlined in my Rough Sleeping Plan of Action are as relevant now as when it was first published back in 2018.

Murad Qureshi: Thank you, MrMayor. Can I first thank the Chair for bringing my question forward after AssemblyMemberBerry? That was the most important thing.
Can I also say I am glad to be back in this momentous year? I have always felt to get anything done in London you need a five-year term. That is how long it usually takes to get things done in London.
That said, can I also give my gratitude as someone who lives on the gateway to the West End that something major is being done on rough sleeping, since we have seen the numbers more than double over austerity? I am sorry it has taken a pandemic threat for something this major to happen.
In saying that, can I just have an update on a few things, MrMayor? Can you tell us what is likely to happen to those housed in hotels once the hotels, for example, want to reopen to the public again?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for your question. I am looking forward to at least a nine-year term rather than a five-year one.
It is a big concern in relation to what happens to those in hotels. The hotel owners and runners have been fantastic, by the way. We clearly cannot from City Hall fund in perpetuity these hotel rooms, so we need some security of funding from central Government. We are concerned about having that security of funding from central Government.
We are hopeful that DameLouiseCasey’s work may provide one of the solutions going forward, but that is one of the questions that does cause Tom [Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development] and our team some sleepless nights about how we are going to continue the good work we have done.
What we do not want to do is see these people back on the streets. That is why, if the Government can adopt our ‘in for good’ principle, it means we can revive the wraparound support package, even though not necessarily a permanent home, to have a pathway of getting off our streets.

Murad Qureshi: Thank you, MrMayor. It is reassuring to hear that. Last night when I walked along the Edgware Road, there were still some rough sleepers out there. Let us face it. About 10% are considered missing. I met, for example, Danny, who is an ex-Army soldier and lives underneath the Marylebone flyover.
What else can we expect all the agencies to be doing during the lockdown with this missing 10%?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, it is a big concern. We do have new people sleeping rough who were not there a few weeks ago. Some of them are EU citizens without residence requirements. Some of those have lost their jobs in hospitality recently. Some of those have no recourse to public funds. Some of those - and it is not a criticism, it is just a fact - do not want to go to a shelter or hotel or be given help. Some have complex needs, alcohol dependencies or drug issues. We work with brilliant charities and front-line organisations that go out and are experts in this area. We will continue to work with them on how we can do that.
You mentioned your experience on Edgware Road. Many of us must be observing lockdown, but if you are out and about and see people, please do use the StreetLink app and let people know. They will go out and help them.

Murad Qureshi: Thank you, MrMayor, for reminding me. That is exactly what I have been doing.
Your initiative has managed to house about 1,200 people at £10million cost. Will the Government continue to pick up the cost for whatever needs to be done at the end of the arrangement you have with the hotels?

Sadiq Khan: That is the concern we have. Those are the discussions we are having with the Government, because we have a finite amount of support from the Government to help with the pandemic. Just the hotel rough sleeping homelessness area is about £20million worth of expenditure. That is over 12 weeks. If the pandemic, as we expected it may do, goes on for longer, then it goes even further. That is why it is really important for us to continue to revisit and review this. It would be heart-breaking if, because we had not enough money, we had to say to these rough sleepers, “You now have to leave the hotels because we have run out of money”, and they end up back on the streets and we go from a situation now with about 400 rough sleepers to potentially 1,600.

Murad Qureshi: Thank you very much, MrMayor, for the update.

The Future of London Transport

Alison Moore: What impact has COVID-19 had on TfL and what changes are being made to ensure that Londoners remain safe as restrictions are lifted to kickstart our economy?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you, Chair. Firstly, can I also welcome Assembly Member Dr Alison Moore to her place in the Assembly, albeit virtually rather than physically in the Chamber.
The question is about the future of London transport. COVID-19 is the biggest challenge to London’s public transport network in TfL’s history. Keeping passengers and staff as safe as possible has and will continue to be our highest priority. Maintaining social distancing on the public transport network as lockdown is eased will take a monumental effort from all Londoners. We are still asking Londoners not to use public transport unless it is absolutely necessary, and it must be there for people who really have no other alternative.
We are working with the Government, employers and schools to stagger working hours throughout the day, but everyone who can work from home will have to continue to do so. If you have to use public transport, please avoid peak times and wear a non-medical face covering, and walk or cycle whenever possible.
We have launched the Streetspace programme to urgently expand cycling and pavement space for what could be a tenfold increase in cycling and a fivefold increase in walking. We are urging Londoners not to replace public transport journeys with car usage. This would instantly make our roads unusably congested and increase toxic pollution. The Congestion Charge, ULEZ and LEZ have been reintroduced. There is a further review to the Congestion Charge as required by the Government as part of the TfL funding deal.
COVID-19 has also caused an unprecedented financial challenge for TfL and other transport operators in the UK and wider afield. Despite being one of the only major cities in Europe without Government funding for day-to-day transport operations, we have significantly improved TfL’s finances since 2016, reducing the operating deficit by 71% and increasing cash balances by 16%. However, fares income has fallen by around 90% during lockdown.
We have now reached agreement with the Government on a funding package to allow TfL to run public transport in London for the next four and a half months. TfL still faces unprecedented challenges over the coming months both operationally and financially, and I will continue to be as clear and upfront with Londoners as possible about the consequences. Thank you, Chair.

Navin Shah: Assembly Member Moore, do you want to come back on any of this?

Alison Moore: I would, yes, please. Thank you, Mr Mayor, for joining us during Ramadan and at this difficult time for all of us. We are all very much aware that you have the interests of Londoners very much at your heart.
My follow-up question is: last week you did agree that funding package with the Government, and it said it will publish it at the first opportunity. Why do you think it has not yet published it? Do you think it is so it can continue to play fast and loose and make false claims about what you agreed to do in respect to the Congestion Charge?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for your question.
I have been disappointed by the Government’s approach to this. I was unhappy with the deal, but what I did not do is go running to the media, as the Government did, on Thursday night and Friday morning with its briefing. By the way, it is also briefing aggressively against the Scottish and Welsh Governments, so I am not by myself in being briefed against by the Government or Conservative politicians. I think it shows bad spirit and bad faith, particularly as we have to work collegiately with it, and we do by and large work well with the Government, not just the DfT.
We are working closely with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) across the country. You will be pleased to know that when I compare TfL’s response versus other train-operating companies (TOCs), we should be really proud and we are ahead of the rest of the country in relation to the services we are providing in relation to our ability to cope with this pandemic virus.
What concerns me is we have been punished in a way others have not. Others were given grants. We have been given a grant, plus required to take out this huge loan, but also others did not have onerous conditions attached as we have. I am disappointed in the Government, and I hope those in Government will reflect on their behaviour and ask themselves whether this is the way to behave during a national crisis where all of us should put aside differences and work together.
Dr Alison Moore AM: Thank you. With the national requirement to maintain 2m social distancing wherever possible, it means that you can only carry 13% to 15% of the normal passengers even when you are up to 100% of the service over time. Can TfL operate in the long term on just 13% to 15% of normal numbers of passengers, or do you think it will require some ongoing subsidy from central Government so that TfL can provide services until we are clear of this virus?

Sadiq Khan: The deal made between GeorgeOsborne [former Chancellor of the Exchequer] and BorisJohnson [former Mayor of London] in 2015 was a deal that says TfL would lose the operating grant that other transport authorities around the world receive. What that means is that more than 80% of our services are provided by a combination of fares, the Congestion Charge and advertising. What we know is over the last eight weeks we have lost more than 90% of our passengers. Even yesterday, only 8% of passengers were using the Tube. We have lost 92%. It is simply not possible for us to provide the services we do without the customers that we used to have. With the 90% cut, we cannot do so. We need £600million a month to provide our services.
Even though we have reduced the operating deficit, even though we have increased the cash balances, we need one of two things from the Government: either a continuing operating grant from the Government to carry us forward whilst we have the consequences of the virus, or devolving to London the powers to raise taxes, whether it is by property taxes, stamp duty, council tax, business rates, land value capture, the sort of stuff talked about in the London Finance Commission report commissioned by one BorisJohnson. Without one of those two things or a combination of both, it will not be possible for us to run the services. This is a sticking-plaster deal, which is why it is really important the Government works with us for the best interests of London, which is in the best interests of our country.

Alison Moore: Thank you very much, Mr Mayor. I think I will leave that there in a minute, Chair. It is disheartening to see the Government playing politics with people’s lives and punishing Londoners, but thank you, Mr Mayor, and thank you, Chair. I will leave it there.

Covid-19 Morbidity rates in men

David Kurten: Given that men are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, making up two-thirds of its victims, what specific actions have you taken to reduce the Covid-19 morbidity rate in men in London?

Sadiq Khan: There is evidence that men and women are equally likely to acquire COVID-19, but men have a higher risk of severe illness and death. At the moment, the reasons behind this are unclear. Across the country, age remains the most significant demographic risk factor. Men from most black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds also appear to be at greater risk from COVID-19. There is also evidence that COVID-19 deaths among the working-age population, though relatively low overall, may be higher among men working in lower-skilled occupations. In particular, occupations including security guards, taxi, bus and coach drivers and social care workers, reflecting some of the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19. There is also evidence that some of the economic and social impacts of the pandemic fall heavily on women. That is why I have called on the Government to ensure that the equality impacts of the measures put in place are front and centre of the response.
These inequalities are not new. Before the pandemic, London was facing real challenges around health inequalities. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these existing inequalities and created new ones. My team is working on a wide range of actions to understand the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 to all Londoners and to take action. We need to build up the data and evidence on the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on London, including by gender. We are working closely with PHE, which is reviewing the impacts on BAME groups. We have just included another analysis by gender as well. We are also engaging with affected communities to ensure their voices are heard and to provide co-ordinated funding through the London Community Response Fund to support groups responding to the needs of affected communities, but the Government must also step up and play its part, too.

David Kurten: Thank you, Mr Mayor. As you said, men are a vast majority of the people who get a serious illness. Women too, but two-thirds are men, and two-thirds of the deaths are men, and that is in all ethnic groups. Do you have any advice specific to men or any inkling or thoughts about what is causing this disparity and this inequality?

Sadiq Khan: Yes. That is a really good point. One of the things that I have asked UCL to do is not simply to look at the bus driver situation, but there is going to be a central piece of work it is doing around occupational hazards, but non-occupational hazards like age, gender, ethnicity, economic circumstances, living conditions and overcrowded housing. There could be not just underlying health issues, but also some factors could be where you live, the type of housing and intergenerational living.
Some of the occupations I have listed, I do not wish to form a stereotype, but the age profile of those professions and also sometimes the underlying health conditions can exacerbate the conditions, but you are right: two to one a factor of men versus women when it comes to deaths, which should be a cause for concern.
It is a pattern around the world as well. I use the word ‘interesting’ in a literal sense, not in any other sense. It is interesting. We are speaking to colleagues around the world as well about lessons learned. As you know, colleagues around the world had the virus before us, so there may be lessons we can learn from them sooner than us.

David Kurten: Thank you, Mr Mayor.

Social justice through the pandemic

Onkar Sahota: London hadthe highest mortality rate in the UK from COVID-19. Thepoorer boroughs and BAME people are the worst affected. While the virus may not discriminate in whom itinfects,don’t these tragic figures show that our society still does?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you, Chair. Can I begin by thanking Assembly Member DrSahota and members of his family as well as everyone else who has been on the front line during this crisis, knowing full well the risk that entails? Every death as a result of this disease is an absolute tragedy, leaving behind a family and a community bereaved. We must never lose sight of the fact that we are not discussing statistics but real people, Londoners who have lost their lives in these most tragic of circumstances.
As [Assembly Member] DrSahota says, COVID-19 does not discriminate who it infects, but we know that it does not mean that the impact of this crisis is being felt equally. The virus is not a great leveller. The latest stats from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that BAME men are up to four times more likely to die from the virus. It exposes the grim reality of these structural inequalities that have existed in our society for far too long now. We know that minority ethnic Londoners are more likely to work in lower-paid jobs, live in overcrowded accommodation and suffer from underlying health conditions, putting them at greater risk from the virus.
We need an inquiry into these inequalities urgently and I am glad that PHE is looking into this. We also need to understand what the underlying causes are, and that is why I have also written to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to undertake a full inquiry into the matter from a wider perspective.
As I have already mentioned, accurate data collection is key. I have called on the Government to record ethnicity on death certificates to reveal the true extent of this disproportionate impact.
Last week I convened a roundtable to hear first-hand from BAME front-line workers, academics and experts. One important action that came out this discussion was an understanding that we cannot go back to business as usual when it comes to inequality. Every Londoner deserves to be able to lead a safe, healthy and happy life regardless of their background or ethnicity.

Onkar Sahota: MrMayor, thank you very much for all the leadership you have shown during this pandemic.
I was listening earlier on about how you were unfairly being criticised for the non-surgical mask delivery to TfL staff. The opinion of the world community has been very uncertain on masks up until now, and you have been leading upfront.
However, what has been certain from the beginning has been that the way to address this was through testing, testing and testing. Thus the Government wasted valuable time getting PPE ready for us and getting testing ready on time for us. This has really been magnified in our nursing homes and social care homes.
What do you say about that? Why did the Government waste seven weeks of valuable time in preparing this country for dealing with this pandemic?

Sadiq Khan: You and members of your family who serve on the front line know full well how ill-equipped you have been in relation to lack of preparedness. One of the things we have to be aware of is deflection away from us asking these big questions about, “Why weren’t you making more PPE? Why aren’t you providing the PPE?”.
Testing is a really important one and relevant today. We know that because the Government failed to order the right level of tests, on 12 March it changed the advice to test and trace. That was a big mistake, but we now have a window of opportunity to make sure we do not lead to a second wave that could overwhelm the NHS. We know that in London the number of people with COVID-19 is relatively low and the number of new cases is relatively low. We have a small window of opportunity to properly test, trace, isolate and support. That means somebody thinks they have the symptoms, gets tested, has the results back within 24 hours, finds out who they have been in contact with if the test is positive, trace them, test them, get quick results back, trace, isolate and support. That way, we will stay on top of the virus.
My worry is, Onkar, that we as a country have been behind the curve and an outlier rather than being prepared in advance of this virus coming. We now have a chance because of the low levels in London to get ahead of the curve. I hope the Government takes up my offer for London to do test, trace, isolate and support from now. We are ready.

Onkar Sahota: MrMayor, has the Government been in touch with you about testing out this NHS app? It is being tested out on the Isle of Wight, which is totally different from a city like London. Has there been any approach from the Government to you as to whether we can test it out in a city like London?

Sadiq Khan: No, it is the reverse. There has not been an approach. I then wrote to the Government saying, “Look, the Isle of Wight is an island. That is very different to London. You should be also piloting a borough or two in London using the NHS app”. With the thin walls we have in London, the higher density, people travelling on buses, you can imagine the false positives you may have. I said, “Listen, we are happy if you just do in a borough first and the borough leaders are happy to use a borough as a pilot”. The Government said no.
We now have a situation where the Prime Minister promised - because he was under pressure at Prime Minister’s Questions - that he would roll out test, trace, isolate and support from 1June with big numbers. The concern is that we will be using this app in London, not tested before in this sort of environment, querying whether it will work. You could often be in contact with somebody in a shop or on public transport without realising you are in close contact. You telling somebody, “I was in close contact with A, B, C and D”, is fine, but the app would really help. I am worried.
Notwithstanding that, there is still an opportunity for us to test, trace, isolate and support because we are ahead of the rest of the country. Our numbers are so small now that we can do it now, whereas other parts of the country like in the north east and north west cannot. Use this opportunity or, if you do not, we could have a second wave, which is unforgiving.

Onkar Sahota: Exactly. I know there is even talk about how London might come out of lockdown quicker than the rest of the country. It is very important if that is to happen that we have a proper system of testing, tracking and tracing. I hope the Government will work with you and also work with the local authorities and make sure it is with public health rather than doing it through a private company, which it has approached.
The other thing, MrMayor, of course is that the countries that have done well are the ones that had good healthcare systems before they went into the pandemic, and of course in this country the NHS has faced austerity, particularly in London. We have 9,000 vacancies for nurses. We should put pressure on the Government to get this absolutely right.
Also, what it has done recently in terms of the healthcare profession coming over from overseas and working in the NHS is to put up the health surcharge from £400 to £624. That is giving a kick in the mouth to all those people coming to this country and who have died looking after us. I hope that you will put pressure on the Government to reverse those healthcare charges and also to take this opportunity of rebuilding the NHS.

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for that. In addition to those from overseas who have helped London, we have had NHS staff from around the country helping London because we were ahead of the curve. This is amazing with the NHS ethos. You could be an NHS member of staff working elsewhere in the country but you have come to London to help us out, not just with NHS Nightingale but other parts of the NHS family in London as well.
You are right to remind us of the record numbers of vacancies in London, which have been caused by a number of the policies. Also, it is worth reminding ourselves that PHE and health protection teams have been hollowed out with austerity over the last ten years as well. It is really important to realise we were not best prepared to deal with this global pandemic.

Onkar Sahota: Thank you, MrMayor.

Housing and Planning

Andrew Boff: What impact do you expect Covid-19 to have on planning and housing policy going forward?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for the question. This pandemic has thrown housing inequality in London into even starker relief and highlighted the urgent need for every Londoner to have access to a safe, good-quality home they can afford. Many Londoners have had to face this crisis without security of tenure in the private rent sector or in overcrowded homes, temporary accommodation or on the streets.
The immediate focus of my team has therefore been to support the most vulnerable Londoners, in particular rough sleepers. I pay huge credit to TomCopley [Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development] for the work he has done over the last few weeks in this area.
I have also called on the Government to provide greater support and protections to London’s private renters, many of whom are at immediate risk of losing their homes through absolutely no fault of their own. My London Housing Strategy and London Plan are policies for the long term. The vision that they support is focused on good-quality, genuinely affordable homes in greener neighbourhoods and that vision remains important and relevant during the coronavirus pandemic as it will afterwards.
It is too soon to determine what the long-term effects will be on London’s economy and on housing need and supply, but we are working closely with partners to understand the wide-ranging housing impacts of this pandemic. In the event of an economic downturn, it is likely that the demand for homes at social rent levels will grow.
My Deputy Mayor for Housing TomCopley has established a Housing Delivery Taskforce to ensure that together we can emerge from this crisis ready to continue our work to build the homes that Londoners need.
I am working with the Government to publish the London Plan as soon as possible to provide the much-needed certainty to the sector and an extension of the Affordable Homes Programme. It is clear that the vision for London set out in the London Plan and the genuinely affordable homes delivered through my funding programmes are more important than ever. I will tackle London’s housing crisis with an adequate, secure and long-term amount of funding.

Andrew Boff: MrMayor, on 9April [2020] KarenBuck [MP for Westminster North] retweeted figures from the Resolution Foundation, which revealed that 16% of the families living in lockdown were in overcrowded conditions. In doing so she said,
“Try living through this on the 16th floor with three kids in one bedroom. Or with twins with autism but no garden. Or with mum and dad sleeping on the living room floor so a severely disabled child can have the bedroom.”
This week, [Assembly Member] DrOnkarSahota sent you a letter from the Health Committee, which outlined its review of your Health Strategy, which included a recommendation but you should examine your policies on family-sized homes, particularly in the light of COVID-19, to ensure that they match up with the objectives of your health policies. The number of family-sized homes has been declining. Your Housing Strategy removed any targets for family-sized homes and your London Plan encourages the building of those smaller properties that 360,000 young people have been enduring during this lockdown.
Is it not time for you, MrMayor, to reintroduce investment targets for family-sized homes?

Sadiq Khan: Firstly, let us be clear. The previous London Plan and the previous Housing Strategy did not have a target for family-sized homes. My London Plan for the first time requires councils to set a mix for the requirement for social housing based on local needs. That is because I recognise we need to have decent-sized housing that is affordable, and that is why it should be based on social need.
If it were the case that we were to have large numbers of market-value family homes being built in London, a large number of those would not be affordable by the family referred to in KarenBuckMP’s tweet. The sort of home that a family needs is a decent-sized home that is available on social rent, and that is why I am requiring councils for the first time to undertake an exercise to work out what their local needs are based on things like their housing needs and how many families they have. That is the way, in addition to our other policies, to meet the needs of those families who desperately need decent-sized homes.

Andrew Boff: MrMayor, we have recently seen figures produced that indicate that most of the overcrowding in housing in London is in socially-rented homes, over which you have some influence. I would like to refer you, incidentally - and I do not particularly want to go through “he said this, you said” stuff - to page 29 of the previous Housing Strategy. That had a very clear commitment to 36% discounted rented homes to be three bedrooms or larger. I do not want to go over the last --

Navin Shah: Would you ask a question, please?

Sadiq Khan: That was an aspiration.

Andrew Boff: Perhaps you would refer me to the aspiration in your Housing Strategy and your London Plan to tackling this crisis. The fact is, MrMayor, that you are going to be doing nothing for those very people that KarenBuck MP is trying to represent, those people who came into her surgery. You are doing nothing for them because your London Plan encourages the building of one-bedroom homes. There is no money that goes with the London Plan and it means the boroughs will continue to build those traps and those jails for overcrowded families.
MrMayor, you need to revisit this. I am looking for an undertaking, as is DrSahota, for you to review your overcrowding policies.

Sadiq Khan: Chair, it is very difficult virtually with a five-minute question and not being given a chance to respond. If I could respond to the various points raised by AssemblyMember‑‑

Andrew Boff: Your chance is now, MrMayor.

Sadiq Khan: Quite. Firstly, this is the first London Plan that requires councils to carry out an assessment of what their local needs are so that developers, housing associations and others can make sure there are decent numbers of family-sized homes made that are available to those on housing waiting lists.
The reason why it is those who are in council accommodation who suffer the most overcrowding is because of the failure of the successive governments to successively replenish the stock of those homes sold under Right to Buy. I would remind the AssemblyMember that for every five homes sold under Right to Buy, only one had been replaced.
The problem is his Government’s because the funding it has given us is disproportionately skewed towards intermediate housing, which is one- and two-bedroom. If he could use his influence over his Government to persuade them to give us funding that helps us fund family-sized social homes, we would be able to do so.
Here is the good news: notwithstanding that over the last three years we have broken record after record with the amount of genuine affordable homes begun in our city which are helping those families, the most recent figures published show that last year we began more than 17,000 genuinely affordable homes. Of those, more than 7,000 were social rent and more than 3,000 council homes. That is just one example of the difference a Labour Mayor is making.
We could do far more with a decent deal from the Government, and that is why I said in my opening that we are now working on the next deal with the Government. If he has any influence over the Government, he should use it to say to the Government, “Use this awful crisis and the potential recession as an opportunity to properly fund council homes”. The cross-subsidy model is not working. We need decent-sized family homes for those on the council housing waiting lists.

Andrew Boff: MrMayor, the 360,000 children living in overcrowded conditions were looking for a Mayor who was going to be with them. What they have is a missing Mayor.

Navin Shah: AssemblyMemberBoff‑‑

Sadiq Khan: Let me respond to that point, Chair, because I know you are going to be fair and impartial. The point that has been made is that I am a missing Mayor and these children are looking to me for help. That is one of the motivations for the record number of council homes. The last time we began more than 3,000 council homes was in 1982. I was 12 years old. That is the difference I am making to these families.
Also, what these families are looking for is leadership from Conservative Members of the Assembly who have influence over their Conservative friends in the Government. Use that influence to lobby them to give us a decent deal to make sure we can build family-sized council homes and increase the supply of genuinely affordable homes in our great city.

People facing street homelessness in London

Siân Berry: Could you provide any update on how many people are still street homeless in London?

Sadiq Khan: I am proud that my team led by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development Tom Copley has been working with charities and other partners, and they have quickly led the way to protect one of the most vulnerable groups in our city, rough sleepers, during this pandemic. We are now culminating in supporting over 1,200 rough sleepers across 14 GLA-procured hotels, with many more similarly accommodated by London’s councils. This work has meant that they can observe social distancing and other public health guidelines and stay safe. I welcome the backing the Government has given to our work by both providing funding towards the operation and rolling out our approach nationwide.
However, you are right to highlight that there are still people sleeping rough. Outreach teams are still going out, and since lockdown began the number of people they have seen each week has varied between 400 and 800. Around 40% are already known to services but, shockingly, most are new to the streets. Although some people have refused offers of support, many want and need accommodation.
To meet this continuing demand, we have recently engaged an additional hotel, making over 100 additional beds available. This will help a significant number of people for now, but the Government needs to commit to cover the cost of any further accommodation needed.
I am deeply worried that the Government now appears to be backtracking on its earlier commitments to protect vulnerable rough sleepers. Clarity is urgently needed on the next steps, both for those still on the streets and for the thousands accommodated in hotels supported by City Hall and London’s councils.
The Government must also do more to stop people ending up on the streets during the pandemic. Our council homelessness services need clarity from the Government that they can and should be assisting those not normally entitled to help, including many non-UK nationals, and assurance that accommodation will be funded as lockdown is eased.

Siân Berry: Thank you very much, MrMayor, for your answer there. All of your work on this is welcome. This is a topic I last discussed with you at the last Mayor’s Question Time in person as well. You have clearly made progress, but there are still people on the streets, as you report, between 400 and 800 people.
I am very concerned also about new flows of people onto the streets. The Housing Committee’s report Hidden Homelessness found there were 13 times more people on any given night who were homeless but coping in other ways - sofa surfing, maybe staying on public transport - than there were people sleeping on the streets.
Streets Kitchen, a charity doing outreach work, is saying that they are busier than ever. We do need to make sure that in the short term we keep the capacity in the hotel schemes growing and growing as much as we can.
You mentioned the further support from the Government. You have had no clarity and clarification presumably on that since the rumours a few days ago that it was withdrawing support from councils. What are you doing to get more information about that, and is there any way in which we as Assembly Members can help pressure the Government to keep this going? We do risk putting many more people into harm’s way.

Sadiq Khan: Yes, thank you for your points and your questions. There are two areas of concern where you can help. One is in relation to ongoing support.
The second is those new rough sleepers. You will be aware that we have a far more sophisticated way of assessing rough sleeping and the outreach work we do than other parts of the country. Other parts of the country have the one count in autumn. We have the regular Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) data, which is very accurate. You will know from the report that has been done about the concerns we have.
The third area is for those who have no recourse to public funds. There is a real concern about what happens to them.
Any help in those three areas is appreciated. There has been radio silence from the Government in those areas in relation to our lobbying.
The good news though is that the Government has asked DameLouiseCasey [DBE CB] to continue her excellent work in this area, and she is passionate about ending rough sleeping and for it not to be a revolving door. We are trying to persuade the Government to adopt our ‘in for good’ principle, which we have been using for our outreach work and our winter shelter programme. That could really be a game-changer to avoid the revolving door.

Siân Berry: Moving on now to private renters, as you know, the loss of private tenancy is one of the leading causes of homelessness. There is a big issue brewing at the moment with renters who will be stuck with large rent arrears built up over the crisis.
I have called for an extension to the halt on eviction proceedings and I have said that arrears should be forgiven, with landlords in need able to claim back lost income. I said this yesterday to the Minister for London [Paul Scully MP].
The New Economics Foundation, which you have worked with on renters’ rights, and the London Renters Union are also calling for rent forgiveness. Will you join us in calling for these two key policies?

Sadiq Khan: I was there first but I am not going to argue about that. My ‘triple lock’ talks about that issue.
Also, I have said to the Government that it should step up in relation to support for landlords who may struggle. One of the ways it could do that very quickly is by increasing the London Housing Allowance. That is a very simple thing it can do, which would really help fill the gap. Also, they should be supporting those landlords. You have to remember that there may be‑‑

Siân Berry: MrMayor, sorry. I am running out of my time, as we all do. I asked you about extending the eviction proceedings ban and forgiving arrears that have been built up so far. As far as I can tell, your ‘triple lock’ merely extends the period of repayment for arrears. The principle here should be that renters should not be shouldering the burden of these arrears and that the Government should be helping small landlords in the way it helps any other small business.

Sadiq Khan: That is what I said. What I said is that the Government has to extend the period from June [2020] for no evictions onwards. It has to amend section 8 so that arrears cannot be used as a basis for the evictions that we are worried about. Also, it should be supporting those landlords, many of whom may have the property as their pension, and they have to pay a mortgage which will continue in relation to‑‑

Siân Berry: Can I get clarity, just in my last 30 seconds? You are supporting that the arrears should be cancelled for renters who have run into arrears problems during this crisis in the current period as opposed to going forward?

Sadiq Khan: What I am saying is that the Government should be supporting those landlords who have problems because renters have not been able to pay their rent. Renters should be supported by the eviction period being extended beyond June. There should also be a position where, for those tenants who have rent arrears, that is not a basis on which they can be evicted in the future.

Siân Berry: You are still saying they should pay it back. I am not sure that that is the answer that I was hoping for, but hopefully we can persuade you to change your tune in future weeks.

Navin Shah: AssemblyMemberBerry, sorry. You have run out of your time. Thank you very much.

Time to develop Streetspace plan

Caroline Russell: Why did it take so long to come forward with plans to provide wider pavements and new cycle lanes to enable safer travel and social distancing?

Sadiq Khan: Can I thank the Assembly Member for her question?
Our first priority is and was to ensure the safety of passengers and staff and the continued operation of our services for essential workers. We have been urgently enabling many more Londoners to walk and cycle. This will help maintain social distancing on transport and avoid a car-led recovery as Government eases restrictions. We have launched my Streetspace programme, the biggest and quickest transformation of the road environment in London ever. This will embed London as a global leader in walking and cycling.
TfL modelling suggests there is a potential for a tenfold increase in cycling and a fivefold increase in walking. We are creating one of the largest car-free areas of any capital city in the world. Working with the City of London and other councils, we are reallocating space to pedestrians and cyclists so people will feel safe to return to work and to help maintain London’s global competitiveness at this critical time.
TfL only controls the red routes, about 5% of London’s roads, so it does take a bit of time working with boroughs on the three key areas we have been doing. Firstly, the rapid construction of a strategic cycling network using temporary materials. Secondly, the transformation of local centres to make local journeys safer and create safe space for queuing outside shops. Thirdly, reducing traffic on residential streets to create low-traffic neighbourhoods. We have been working to ensure we have the materials, equipment and resources needed. We are working with ambitious boroughs and have secured funding for this in our deal with the Government. We will provide protection where possible on Cycle Superhighways 7 and 8, whilst Cycleway 9 and Cycleway 4 will be finished faster.
TfL has already added around 5,000 square metres of extra space and footpaths across London and a new cycle lane on Park Lane. Footways have been widened in Camden, Stoke Newington, Brixton and Earl’s Court, and Broadway Market has been closed to traffic. These emergency temporary measures align with new Government guidance issued shortly after we announced my Streetspace programme.
Making London a world-leading city in which to walk and cycle should be one of the few positives to come out of this awful, terrible virus and crisis, creating a healthier and greener city for all.

Caroline Russell: Thank you, Mr Mayor. When I submitted my question, other cities were way ahead of us, and I was literally jumping up and down with frustration. Paris had got its plans out a month ago. I must now congratulate you, your Walking and Cycling Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Transport. Your Streetspace plans now show how London can be resilient with the space on London’s streets used to support social distancing.
How will you make sure that every Londoner benefits from these wider pavements, new bike lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods, and in particular that outer Londoners are not left out?

Sadiq Khan: Can I thank you for your question. You have always been collaborative on these issues and I am grateful.
I would just add that one of the reasons why it may have appeared other cities were doing more than us is because the virus was ahead in those cities, so their planning appeared to be before us. I am sure you would agree ours are the most comprehensive plans of any global city in the world.
You are right, though, about outer London and making sure everyone benefits from the additional walking and cycling. One of the things WillNorman [Walking and Cycling Commissioner] has been doing - and I give him huge credit, working with Heidi [Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport] and the team - is speaking to council leaders across the city who really need alternatives to a car-led recovery. The ‘coalition of the willing’ is doing a great job, but if she has any influence over the Westminsters and the Kensington and Chelseas, I would appreciate any help. We have to make sure we do not just have the good councils working with us so their services benefit, but also those councils who appear to be anti-walking, anti-cycling and in favour of a car-led recovery, it seems.

Caroline Russell: Absolutely, I am entirely in support of avoiding a car-led recovery. That would be disastrous for us. I think some of the boroughs need some clarity about what funding is available to be bid for, and it would be very helpful if there could be more clarity for the boroughs about exactly what pots of money are available and how to bid for it. Yes, these people in outer London do need these wider pavements. They need the safer crossings just as much as people in inner London. It is really important that we do not forget about them.
Just looking at the cycle lane network for a moment, there is not much being done yet. You have started building a cycle lane on Park Lane. Do you know how many extra kilometres you will have provided by the end of June in inner and outer London?

Sadiq Khan: I can provide that to you offline. It is not quite right in relation to the size of Park Lane that there is not much detail. There are huge amounts of additional kilometres added in cycling since we announced these plans.
Also, just to reassure you, both Heidi [Alexander] and Will [Norman] went to speak to council leaders as recently as last week to let them know about some of the funding available to support them with these plans. One of the reasons why you are right that we have to widen pavements in outer London as well is because of some of the queues outside shops and some of the queues at bus stops. I will make sure Will drops Caroline a line here letting her know of our ambitions by the end of June. What we are going to do is be even more ambitious than any city in the world.

Caroline Russell: That is great, and if you could make sure that breakdown is in terms of inner and outer London, that would be really helpful. I have no further questions. Thank you very much.

London’s economy after lockdown

Leonie Cooper: What is the biggest economic challenge facing London as a result of COVID-19?

Sadiq Khan: Can I thank the Assembly Member for her question?
COVID-19 is primarily a public health crisis which has taken lives too soon and devastated families, yet the economic impact of the outbreak and the restrictions brought in to tackle it will be far-reaching and long-lasting. I am determined to do all that I can to support our economy over the coming weeks and months.
I welcome the Government’s decision to extend the Job Retention Scheme until October. I have said repeatedly that this crisis will require long-term economic intervention from the Government on an unprecedented scale. Government support must urgently include more help for small and medium-sized businesses which are struggling to pay rent, and making companies eligible for Government support grants. Ministers must give businesses the help they need to stay afloat to support the capital’s economic recovery in the future, and we must work in partnership to find ways to provide effective skills and employment support to the newly unemployed to get them back into work as soon as possible and to ensure that they continue to train and develop their skills. I will be working with the Government to explore ways to do this, including through the adult skills system and the unique expertise of London boroughs.
Let us not forget the lockdown will also have an impact on crucial negotiations around our long-term relationship with the European Union (EU). Once the transition period comes to an end, this will add further complexity to an already enormously difficult situation. However, I remain optimistic that London’s dynamic economy will weather the storm of these unprecedented times. We are a resilient city that has overcome huge challenges in the past, and I know we can do so again.

Léonie Cooper: Thank you very much, Mr Mayor, and can I commend you on the leadership that you have shown over the last four years in the face of terror attacks? Now, I think Londoners will be looking to you to see us being led out of this appalling situation and trying to revive London.
One of the biggest issues, though, is about confidence. Confidence of all of us personally to start going back out and becoming customers again, and also the confidence of businesses and the workers in them. One of the huge concerns that has been going on since the beginning of this crisis has been about the level of PPE that has been available. Do you feel confident, given the problems that we have had getting it to the NHS, getting it into social care settings, that as we start to unlock the economy, PPE in adequate amounts is going to be available for staff and also for customers so that we can have that confidence to start reviving the economy?

Sadiq Khan: Can I just be clear: for PPE, the focus should be on the NHS and care homes. At the moment, we think we have OK supplies for the NHS. We are a bit worried about care homes going forward with future supplies.
We have been behind the curve in relation to our response to this virus as a country. The real challenge when we start easing restrictions is “test, trace, isolate, support”. Whilst the virus appears to be lower in London, now is the time, the window of opportunity, to make sure people can be tested quickly. If they have it, trace those they have been in contact with, isolate and support. That will give confidence as lockdown is eased.
The advice now is still to have lockdown, but the big concern I have in addition to the one you have raised is: will these businesses be there when lockdown is lifted, or will they have closed down because of the challenges they are facing?

Léonie Cooper: Absolutely, Mr Mayor, and I think one of the schemes that a lot of people have raised with me that they have really liked is your Pay It Forward initiative. I wondered if you could tell us a bit about how well that is supporting small, medium and other businesses and what more we can do from the GLA to support businesses to make sure they are there when we do start to properly unlock.

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for the question. Pay It Forward London is a scheme that has now been replicated around the world, clearly without London: Pay It Forward Budapest or Pay It Forward in other cities. What it means is that those of us who want to pay now for goods and services we may receive in the future can give a cash flow and a lifeline to these businesses, often very small businesses. 1,600 members of the public have come forward to support the businesses to the tune of more than £100,000 already. It is really important that we continue to do so. These are lifelines, because many of these businesses do not have a big loan facility or an overdraft, and the services that we pay for pay for the wages and the rent and the business rate, so it is really important that Londoners continue to be as generous as they have been. I am so proud of our city and its generosity. Pay It Forward London is a really good thing we could all do to help small businesses that provide goods and services.

Léonie Cooper: Thank you very much for setting that up, Mr Mayor. Thank you, Chair.

TfL staff safety

Shaun Bailey: What are you doing to keep TfL staff safe during this pandemic?

Sadiq Khan: Can I thank the Assembly Member for his question? Although Assembly Member Bailey has only asked about TfL staff, with the Chair’s permission I will answer more widely as I have always been clear and recognised it is not just TfL staff who run public transport in our city.
It is absolutely heart-breaking that public transport workers, including TfL staff and contractors, have lost their lives to COVID-19. It is a tragic reminder that they are key workers who have gone above and beyond to help save lives. We owe them all an enormous debt of gratitude.
The safety of staff and passengers has been and will continue to be our highest priority. That is why TfL has done more to keep public transport safe during this crisis than any other transport provider in the UK, as has been recognised by the trade unions who represent transport workers. Some of the actions we have taken include: an enhanced cleaning regime across the entire Tube, bus, train and TfL rail network, using a new, hospital-grade anti-viral disinfectant that provides protection for up to 30 days; lobbying the Government to allow transport workers to access the testing scheme for key workers and encouraging staff who meet the criteria to do so; making buses middle-door boarding only, closing off the seats nearest drivers, and putting an additional film over the protective screen on drivers’ cabs; installing hundreds of hand sanitisers in stations and stops across London; funding enhanced sick pay for bus drivers and ensuring cleaners get full shift rate of pay for self-isolating; and pushing the Government to change its guidance on wearing non-medical face coverings on public transport to keep staff and passengers safe. When it belatedly did, we immediately asked Londoners to do so and provided all TfL staff and contractors with basic masks. We are doing everything possible to encourage Londoners not to use public transport and to socially distance at stations and stops. This includes email, announcements, signage and foot markings at stations, as well as deploying over 100 BTP and additional staff and stewards across the network to ensure the rules are followed.
I pay tribute to the transport trade unions for the constructive way they have worked with us to protect staff and passengers during a terrifying time for their members. I will repeat my thanks to all public transport workers for everything they have done and continue to do for our city.

Shaun Bailey: Thank you, Mr Mayor, for your answer, and I would also like to echo your thanks to transport workers working across London at this very dangerous and scary time.
How long have non-medical facial coverings been available to TfL staff?

Sadiq Khan: They were made available to staff as soon as the advice from the Government changed ten days ago, but those staff who do work that requires personal protective equipment (PPE) have still been using PPE. For other staff and contractors, the basic masks were available after the Prime Minister’s announcement of the change of guidance.

Shaun Bailey: Why did you wait so long to provide your own staff with these facial coverings? You have full control over this. They had to wait seven weeks, Mr Mayor. Seven weeks. You could have taken charge of that much earlier on.

Sadiq Khan: As we have rehearsed in a previous answer, I am in daily contact with the Government and also PHE, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Their advice and guidance is quite clear that medical PPE, surgical visors and the like, should only be for those in the NHS and care settings. They should not be used in other settings like transport or food and other outlets, and we have followed the advice.
In the meantime, we were lobbying the Government in relation to the wearing of non-medical, non-surgical coverings. Just to remind colleagues, this does not keep the wearer safe. It keeps other people safe because it stops the virus being passed on. Once the Government changed the advice, we made available to our staff and contractors these basic masks, and we continued to do so.

Shaun Bailey: Surely, Mr Mayor, your job is to make a special case for London. They are your staff; they rely on you to keep them safe. You have full control of this. Why did it take so long? Are you comfortable with the delay that you have instituted for your staff before they could get this protection?

Sadiq Khan: The measures we have introduced in London on public transport are the most comprehensive of any transport authority in the country. Not just the long-lasting, hospitality-quality, anti-viral disinfectant, not just the regular cleansing of buses, key touch-points, the depots, the restrooms, the garages, not just asking the trade unions to also help with the inspections, but also we closed off the front door, which was criticised by the Government, so passengers stay away from drivers, only using the middle doors, not allowing passengers to embark or disembark, but also put a protective film on the Perspex glass.
Because I am keen to make sure we can do as much as we can and learn in real time, I have asked TfL to commission world-leading experts University College London (UCL), led by SirMichaelMarmot, undertaking an urgent review of all the steps we have taken to see whether they were the right steps at the right time, but also what more we can be doing. They will be providing their report in the next few weeks. We will see what further steps we need to be taking. I am confident that not only have we followed all the advice and the best guidance, we have gone above and beyond what we have been asked to do.

Shaun Bailey: Are you comfortable with the delay that you have had, though? You have spoken a lot about the Government and what it has not done. We are interested in what you have done. Are you comfortable with what you have done to keep TfL staff safe? Remember they had to wait seven full weeks before you provided them with any kind of protection. Whilst, by the way, you were asking for everybody else to wear masks, you were not providing them for your own staff. That feels like a failure on your part to deliver for your own staff, who of course have died at a rate five times that of NHS workers. It is a very serious thing for you not to deliver on this particular protection.

Sadiq Khan: It is important to get the facts right, particularly when it is the premise of a question. I was lobbying the Government to change its guidance in relation to the wearing of non-medical facial coverings. That guidance changed ten days ago when the Prime Minister announced it on Sunday. He announced in a COBRA meeting that he was going to be doing this, and he made the announcement on Sunday, and the guidance was published on Monday. We then started providing the basic masks to not just our staff but our contractors as well.
In the meantime, we have been going above and beyond, working with hard-working trade unions to make sure all our staff and passengers are as safe as they can be. I am confident that we have been having regular contact not just with staff, not just with trade unions, but also with public health experts across the country and around the world, to do what we can. It is not the case that we have not been making sure that we are providing safe public transport for passengers and staff.
One of the reasons why I have asked TfL to urgently instruct UCL to do this piece of work is to make sure in real time that we learn any lessons that need to be learned, not in three or four years’ time, when there has been an independent public inquiry that needs to be heard.

Shaun Bailey: Mr Mayor, you failed to provide the protection for your staff for over seven weeks, a seven-week period, so it feels quite hard to sit here and hear you talk about real time. In that time, the unions criticised you for not defending your staff, I asked you to do more to defend your staff, and you did not do it. It feels like a failure. Londoners have watched for seven weeks while transport staff have died and you did not provide any protection for them.

Sadiq Khan: The difference between you and me is I have been regularly engaging with not just the staff but with the trade unions. I noticed, unfortunately, you did not give them credit at the beginning of the question as you did others. I give them credit. The trade unions have done a brilliant job representing their staff, who have been scared of going to work. It is because we have been listening to the trade unions and their workers that we stopped the front door being used on our buses and we only allowed embarking and disembarking on the middle doors. It is because we have been listening to the staff, the workers and the trade unions that we added an additional protective film over the Perspex that separates the driver from the passenger. It is because we listened to the trade unions and the staff that we stopped passengers sitting next to bus drivers, so they were a number of metres away from bus drivers. It is because we listened to the trade unions and the workers that we said to the trade unions, “You provide additional inspectors to make sure that you are reassured”. It is also because we have listened to the staff and workers in trade unions that we have provided our staff with hand sanitisers and alcohol wipes to make sure they were confident that the touch points were as clean as they could be. We also, in the meantime, made sure we have secured--

Shaun Bailey: Mr Mayor, sorry to interrupt you, but we are time-pressured, as you know, so I am going to stop there. You failed to deliver these things without being pressured. You had to be pressured to deliver these things. You had to be pressured‑‑

Sadiq Khan: You say you are going to stop and then you make a statement. You cannot have it both ways, Chair. You can either stop there or make a statement. This is a virtual meeting. It is very difficult to be heckled virtually.

Shaun Bailey: You had to be pressured to take any action at all. You failed your own staff --

Sadiq Khan: Sorry, Chair. Is there a question for me, Chair? It is very difficult. I am being told to answer my question.

Navin Shah: Have you finished, Assembly Member Bailey?

Shaun Bailey: Yes, Chair. Thank you.

Navin Shah: Thank you very much. Can we please try to not talk over each other.

Sadiq Khan: It is really hard, Chair, yes.

Navin Shah: Also, we are not going to debate. Stick to the questions.